Pearl Harbor vets remember 'Day of Infamy'

4:05 PM,
Dec. 7, 2012

Pearl Harbor Veterans Bill Braddock, left, and Jim Landis, right, share war stories with each other during the World War II Remembrance at the National Naval Aviation Museum today. Friday marked the 71st anniversary of America's entry into WWII, after the Japanese attack on Hawaiian Islands in 1941.

Written by

Folks crowded around Cass Phillips and his buddies like they were rock stars. People asked for their autographs. Onlookers asked to pose for pictures with them.Phillips and his pals just smiled and granted each request.

"I do it one day each year and act like a hero,'' said Phillips, 92, one of eight local Pearl Harbor veterans who were honored Friday, the 71st anniversary of the infamous attack, at the National Naval Aviation Museum. "I'm not a hero by any stretch, but they treat me like I am.''

Phillips might accept the accolades with humility, but to the hundreds who attended the two-hour ...